Bellrock barn goes up in flames

by Faye Prettie (Grade 9, Sydenham High School)

Photo by Jack Prettie

On Tuesday, May 3, a barn was engulfed in flames in Bellrock, west of Verona. It was spotted around three o'clock by students on the high school bus coming home from school.

It was a cloudy day and raining slightly when one of the students spotted the smoke. The smoke was darker than the other clouds and hundreds of feet in the air. At first they thought it was just dark rain clouds, but soon they realized it was smoke. Looking to the north side of Bellrock Road they spotted the building engulfed in flames. Once the bus drove closer they realized it was a barn.

The students who spotted it were neighbours of the people who owned the farm. When the students got off the bus they called fire department. Fire trucks and an ambulance arrived by 3:30 pm. The roof had caved in by this point and all you could see were flames high in the air. The horses were running wild and spooked in the field. By 4:00 pm there was nothing left of the barn, just flames.